Pictures Of You
by The Jasper Raven
Summary: Fifty years pass since Saya's last sleep. When she awakens, only objects from Haji keep her from forgetting everything. [Haji/Saya] for BakaKonekoRKL


**Title: **"Pictures Of You"

**Authoress: **Sasukez

**Anime: **Blood+

**Pairing: **HajixSaya

**Rating: **K

**Occasion: **BakaKonekoRKL's birthday

**Dedicated: **BakaKonekoRKL

**Disclaimer: **The anime Blood+ was directed by Junichi Fujisaku. The song, "Pictures Of You" is by The Last Goodnight

**A/N: **This Oneshot is for my cousin's birthday. This is my first Blood+ FanFic. Please be civil in your criticisms if you have any. Keep in mind I had to rush to get this done in time for her birthday. I can probably do a lot better than this. See you at the end!

_This is the clock upon the wall_

_This is the story of us all_

_This is the first sound of a newborn child before he starts to crawl._

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

The only sound in the old diner was that of the ticking clock. Other than that single, monotonous sound, silence enveloped the world. The only hints that anyone inhabited the diner was the big bulletin board behind the counter, overflowing with old photographs. Each depicted the same people. Each always depicted some sort of aging. The people in the pictures seemed to depict a timeline except for two girls. After seventeen, they stopped aging. They each had inky black hair and pale skin. One vanished somewhere among the timeline. The other did not. Hidden among the sea of photographs was a single, yellowed, withered family photo it seemed. That family included a man with light hair in a ponytail, a younger boy with messy red hair, an even younger boy with light brown hair, and two individuals that seemed very out of place. One was a girl much like the two from the earlier photos. She had short black hair and brown eyes that almost looked russet in color. There was a man by her side that gazed stoically out of the photo with midnight eyes and ebony hair. He was in no other photos.

It was drizzling that day. It wasn't a downpour and it wasn't a thunderstorm. An umbrella really wasn't necessary for such a light rainfall as it was that day. Yet, she brought one anyway. Up the stone steps went a young woman with shoulder length black hair and clear, sky blue eyes. She was dressed in a school uniform of a black skirt, white top, and red tie. A rather large black umbrella shielded her from the light rain as she ascended the stone steps. Over her arm lay a long black trench coat. She really wasn't sure what she was going to need. She came prepared for the worst, though she carried no weapons. She was nervous about what she may find once she reached the top of the stairs. She'd visited this place almost every day with her adoptive father but she'd never seen what lay beyond the stone doors at the top of the staircases. She'd seen pictures and nothing more. She'd heard wonderful stories but had never seen her in person before.

The girl finally reached the top of the stone staircase and she froze. The stone doors were open wide and a few feet beyond them lay a girl. She was wearing only a white nightgown that fell to her knees. Her hair was so long it fell entirely around her body. The blue-eyed girl approached the one laying before her. She knelt down in front of her and called for her hesitantly.

"Aunty Saya?"

The girl laying before her shifted slightly and raised her head. The younger girl gulped when she met, brown, confused eyes. She wasn't quite sure what to do. She knew her aunt wasn't dangerous but she also knew she'd been asleep for fifty years. She would be very disoriented and may not remember her past life.

"Welcome back Aunty," the girl said with a smile.

Her aunt blinked and looked around.

"You've been asleep for a long time Aunty. A lot has happened. Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and reacquainted. We've been waiting a long time for you to wake up."

The girl extended her umbrella so it shielded Saya from the gentle rainfall. Saya gave no response, but just stared at her, blankly. Regardless, the younger helped her to her feet. She had to go slow. It would be a while before Saya could function properly again. She was shaky when she finally got to her feet after a few stumbles. The girl wrapped the trench coat around Saya and was just about to begin the trek home when she remembered something.

"Oh! Wait here!"

Saya stared at the girl as she ran back to the doorway. Her niece picked up a fully bloomed, pink rose that lay on an outcropping near the doorway. The girl ran back to her and placed the rose in her hands. Again, all Saya did was stare at it.

"There was always a fresh one waiting outside your door. I was never told who they were from but they're always there and that blue ribbon was always on them."

No matter how many times she asked, Kai never explained to her the origins of the roses. He always said, "A love like that can't be explained in words." She had never figured out what love he had been speaking of. Maybe now that Saya was awake she'd understand. She watched in amazement as Saya fingered the large pink petals. Her thin fingers brushed the petals delicately before wandering down to the ribbon. That seemed to bring a greater reaction out of her than the flowers itself. A small smile tweaked her lips, making her look like a child waking up on Christmas Day and finding everything she wanted under the tree. She first raised the flower to her nose and inhaled slowly. She then moved her lips to the ribbon and kissed it gently. She whispered something against it that her niece couldn't make out. Instead of questioning Saya about it, she coaxed her down the stone steps to the warm shelter of the diner. If she had asked Saya to repeat her whispered word, she would hear it was a name. Though it was only two syllables and four letters long, it meant the world to Saya.

_This is the war that's never won_

_This is a soldier and his gun_

_This is the mother waiting by the phone praying for her son_

Saya's niece led her to the couch. Saya continued to stroke the ribbon around the rose.

"Aunty Saya. Do you remember me at all? I was only a baby when you were last awake. I doubt you'd recognize me. My name's Aoi."

Saya looked to her and smiled. Aoi's heart lifted at the reaction. She smiled back at her aunt.

"We should probably cut that hair of yours and find you some clothes to wear."

Aoi got up from the couch.

"Dad wanted me to show you this once you woke up," she said, rummaging behind the counter in the diner section of the room.

She returned to the couch with a fat photo album, a hairbrush, a pair of scissors, and a phone. She placed the photo album in Saya's lap and went around the couch so she was standing behind Saya with the hair brush and scissors.

"Flip through it and try to remember everyone."

Aoi pulled Saya's extremely long hair over the back of the couch. It pooled at her feet in a big pile. She started brushing the top half gently. Saya opened to the first page of the photo album. Aoi was surprised at how quickly Saya had redeveloped the simplest movements of the body. That one single ribbon had really sparked her to life. Aoi looked over Saya's shoulder at the first page of the album.

"Those are from the Vietnam War. That's your dad there."

Aoi pointed to a man in a black and white photo standing with a few more men. They were all dressed for battle and rifles were strapped to their backs.

"His name was George. And that man beside him is David. He's not related to us but I like to call him Uncle Dave," Aoi giggled.

Saya flipped through a few more pages from Vietnam. Aoi continued to describe the people throughout. She also began to cut Saya's hair. Aoi could definitely tell Saya was slowly beginning to remember some of the faces from her past. Aoi reminded her of her brothers, Kai and Riku. She explained how Riku was her biological father and how Kai had taken care of her and her sister since both Riku and Diva had died before they could walk. She told Saya about David, Julia, and their son, Jonathon. She reminded Saya of every person she'd met in her last awakened state until they reached the last page. Aoi had cut most of Saya's hair by then. She figured she liked it short by all the old pictures she'd seen. Now that her hair was gone, Aoi realized her sister looked more like Saya then she did.

While Aoi was cleaning up, Saya pulled out a photo from the last page. Aoi looked at it curiously. It was an older family photo from when Saya was last awake and George and Riku were still alive. Saya's fingers ran over the one man whose identity Aoi was unaware of. Kai had never talked much about the mysterious man with midnight hair.

"All I know is that he was your Chevalier," Aoi explained. "You remember all of that right? About Chevaliers and chiropterans? I know its probably not something you want to remember but its what you and I are."

Aoi sighed. She'd never quite accepted that she wasn't human. Unlike her sister, Aki, who embraced being a chiropteran princess, Aoi longed to be human. As Aoi continued to sweep Saya's hair into a garbage bag, Saya continued to stare at the photo. Her hand went to the rose, absently, and she untied the ribbon from around its stem. She held it beside the mysterious man in the photo and glanced between the two for a while. Suddenly, she tried to choke out a word past her dry throat. Aoi looked up from her place on the floor behind the couch.

"I'm sorry Aunty. Did you say something?"

Saya repeated that single word as she recognized the man in the photo fully.

"Haji."

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Hung upon your wall for the world to see_

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Remind us all of what we used to be_

Aoi folded her arms on the top of the couch, resting her head on them, and looked at Saya curiously.

"Is that his name?" she asked, pointing to the man in the photo. "Haji?"

Saya nodded.

_Yes! I finally got a name! _Aoi thought to herself. _Take that Kai! Told you I'd find out one day!_

"Is that ribbon his?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes," Saya rasped.

"Aww. That's so sweet. Your Chevalier left you roses every day. I wish I had a Chevalier that loved me that much."

Saya looked to her and blinked once, looking more confused than ever. This puzzled Aoi, causing her to tilt her head to the side slightly.

"Haji…alive?" Saya struggled to say.

Now it was Aoi who was confused.

"Well…yeah. Chevaliers are immortal too, remember? Besides, who else would leave you flowers with something that belonged to someone else?"

Saya nodded slowly, still looking confounded, and turned back to the photo.

"Oh! Wow! I'm so stupid! I haven't called Kai yet! He'll be so excited to hear you're awake!"

Aoi jumped to her feet and picked up the phone. She pressed it to her ear after quickly punching in a number. She began talking, excitedly, to the person on the other end. Saya only half listened. She was still focused on the small remains of her loyal Chevalier.

_There is a drug that cures it all_

_Blocked by the governmental wall_

_We are the scientists inside the lab just waiting for the call_

_This earthquake weather has got me shaking inside_

_I'm high up and dry_

A month passed since Saya woke. Kai fussed over her every second since he arrived at the diner after Aoi's phone call. Despite his slightly graying hair and added wrinkles, Saya still managed to recognize him. Kai had been shocked when Saya had moved and spoke so humanly when he first arrived. Aoi had explained to Kai how the ribbon and photo had woken Saya up. She seemed sort of smug about it, which Saya didn't understand, but Kai just laughed it off. Aoi's sister, Aki, didn't appear. When Saya asked, Kai solemnly told her Aki's story.

In a desperate attempt to save David's life after a heart attack, Aki had panicked and turned him into a Chevalier. Julia had passed away from old age soon before which could explain the cause of the heart attack. Though nobody had been angry about the incident, Aki ran away from home, unable to live with the guilt of denying David a place beside Julia in Heaven. But, since David was now her Chevalier, he had no choice but to go with her. Though she had a cell phone with her and Aoi called her regularly, they had no inkling as the Aki's whereabouts.

Saya found this very upsetting. Aoi had called Aki to spread the news that Saya was awake but she hadn't picked up. All she could do was leave a voice mail. For that past month, Saya didn't meet Aki. She hoped in the few years she was awake she'd meet her somewhere along the line. As Saya's speech enhanced, she answered all of Aoi's questions about Haji. From the first day he came to live with her to his last day during Diva's demise, she told it all. Again, everyone was surprised at how quickly Saya remembered everything. Aoi was starting to understand what Kai had been saying all those years about how "a love like that couldn't be described in words." She had figured out on her own that it had been Haji who probably left the roses. However, one thing troubled Aoi still. She questioned Saya about it one summer afternoon while they were cleaning dishes in the diner.

"Aunty Saya? I had this question about your Chevalier."

"You always have questions about Haji," Saya giggled. "Should I be jealous?"

"No, no. Of course not. I was just…"

Saya looked at her curiously when she stopped short.

"I hope this question won't sound offensive or anything," Aoi started again.

"Offensive? No of course not! I promise. I won't be offended by anything you ask."

Aoi put down her dish she was washing and turned off the water.

"Kai described the whole…keeping the bloodline thing going. I know if…my mom wanted kids…she'd have to use one of your Chevaliers."

"You know who your dad is Aoi!" Saya said, thinking Aoi was questioning her heritage.

Aoi turned beat red and shook her head vigorously.

"Oh no no no no no! That's not what I mean! I was just going to say…doesn't that make you and Haji…forbidden lovers?"

There was an awkward silence between them. It took Saya a while to find a way to answer her curious niece.

"Yeah. I guess a little bit. If I wanted kids we definitely would be."

"You don't want any kids of your own Aunty Saya?"

"No. It never really crossed my mind."

"Did you ever love Haji enough to consider having a family with him?"

"These questions are getting awfully personal Aoi! Where did all this come from?"

Saya could feel her own cheeks getting warm at Aoi's questions.

"Oh! I'm sorry Saya!" Aoi exclaimed, bowing slightly. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable! Its just…I've never had someone to talk to about these kind of things before. I really look up to you Aunty. You did a lot of incredible things."

Saya was touched by this. Despite her constant babbling and questioning, she was a good person. She was kind and smart and talented. There was nothing not to love about her. Saya managed a smile.

"You pretty much want to talk about boys, don't you Aoi?" she teased.

Aoi blushed.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds so…kinky."

Both girls laughed.

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Hung upon your wall for the world to see_

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Remind us all of what we used to be_

A week later, Saya and Aoi went for a walk around Okinawa. They split up after Aoi got distracted by a friend from school. Saya sighed contentedly when she escaped Aoi's chatter. Although she loved the girls to pieces, it was nice to have some quiet time to herself. As Saya walked the quiet streets of her hometown, she couldn't help feeling very out of place. Since she remembered him, Saya desperately longed for the companionship of her trusted Chevalier. She missed their unspoken feelings and single sentence conversations. She missed the taste of his blood and the haunting melody of his favorite instrument.

After Aoi had told her about the roses at her resting place, Saya had kept hope that perhaps he was still alive. But already a month had passed and she'd seen no sing of Haji. She found herself wandering to the place where she'd first seen him the last time she was awake. She unconsciously hoped history would repeat itself but it didn't. The sidewalk was empty. There was no mass of spectators listening to a melancholy tune on a cello played by a dark individual. Disheartened by the empty street, Saya walked on.

The town was very inactive that day. It was unusually quiet, like it was waiting for an approaching storm. It was quite ominous and Saya, instinctively, kept her guard up. It was difficult to concentrate on staying alert when she was so focused on her memories of Haji. She pulled out the old family picture from the photo album and the ribbon from the roses. She sighed in irritation. She wasn't used to being without him. Perhaps it was selfish of her to crave his presence so much. Perhaps he enjoyed wandering freely without her. She was heartbroken to even consider the possibility.

Once again, her fingers silently danced across the image of his face, as if trying to will the picture to manifest before her. She closed her eyes to imagine what her new life awake would be like. They no longer had to hunt down Diva or slay chiropterans. There would be no more bloodshed or heartache. They could spend the days until she slept again safe and happy. They could go in search of Aki. They could teach Aoi how to play the cello. They could teach her that mysterious ballad from the past. Saya could remember it clearly. She replayed it in her head. It was so clear and vivid that it almost sounded as if it was being played right beside her ear.

_Confess to me, every secret moment_

_Every stolen promise you believed_

_Confess to me, all that lies between us_

_All that lies between you and me_

Saya's eyes snapped open when she realized she wasn't imaging the hypnotic music. Her feet had led her to the road that overlooked the beach. She approached the sandy steps that led down to the shore and stopped at the top. With his back turned to her, she saw a man sitting in a small black folding chair on the beach. He was dressed in black and had shoulder length, midnight hair. Though she couldn't see his face, she knew it was him. She recognized the simple way he held the instrument, the simple way he dressed, and the simple way his hair fell over his shoulders. He was very simple she realized. It wasn't to complicated to figure Haji out. Saya sat down on the top step and fiddled with the ribbon as she listened to him play. She was surprised at her own reaction to finding him again. Any other girl would have run down and smothered him. But she wasn't "any other" girl. And Haji wasn't any other man. He was more that that…_way _more than that. She stared at the back of his head as he continued to play, wrapping and unwrapping the ribbon around her hands, absently. Again, her eyes drifted closed. The song was so familiar and made her feel so comfortable and at peace. It was almost as if she'd never been asleep.

"Saya."

She blinked back awake and glanced back at him. The music had stopped as he turned in his seat to gaze at her. She gazed back at him. It was wonderful to hear his voice again, like black velvet washed in moonlight. He didn't have to say anything but her name to make her feel above and beyond. It brought back so many memories more of her past.

"I thought you were dead," she simply said.

As always, it was impossible to tell Haji's thoughts on the matter.

"I couldn't leave you without a Chevalier to protect you," he replied.

"A princess always needs a knight," she teased.

He said nothing. They stared at each other in silence. Suddenly, Saya got to her feet and ran across the sand separating them. Haji stood up from his place on the chair, leaning the cello against it, and faced her. By that time she had reached him and did what any other girl would do. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

"I missed you Haji," she whispered.

He didn't say anything, but she felt his arms wrapping around her waist. She sighed. It was as it should be. Everything was right now. Everything was clear.

"Don't ever make me think you're dead for fifty years again!" she scolded, looking up at him through watery eyes.

He nodded. Even though he didn't smile or say anything, Saya could tell he was happy and that made her equally as happy. She could only imagine how lonely it must have been for him, waiting for her to awaken for fifty years. She told herself to cherish the time she had with him now before she was lost to slumber once again.

_We are the boxers in the ring_

_We are the bells that never sing_

_There is a title we can't win no matter _

_How hard we may swing_

"Aunty Saya!"

Saya heard Aoi calling for her in the distance. She was reluctant to break the embrace with Haji and she could tell by the very slight tensing of his arms that he was just as disappointed by her releasing as she was. She handed him the blue ribbon.

"Thank you for the roses," she said with a grateful smile. "They were beautiful. I loved them."

For the first time since she thought she'd lost him, Saya was beyond delighted when the tiniest, quirk of a smile graced his lips. He accepted the ribbon back from her, his warm hand lingering on hers as he did so. Then Aoi appeared.

"Aunty Saya! There you are!"

Saya's niece came running across the sand to meet them. She glanced between them and looked to Saya expectantly, waiting for introductions.

"Aoi. This is Haji."

"Oh my gosh! You're Haji? Oh wow! Its so nice to finally meet you! Aunty's told me so much about you!"

Haji glanced at Saya, surprised by this. She smiled innocently. Saya and Haji both ended up being dragged back to the diner by Aoi. Aoi babbled on as usual. Saya glanced at Haji and found him already glancing at her. There were those unspoken feelings again. They didn't need to say anything to express how they felt about one another. They never needed to. They were companions. They were partners. They were friends. They were lovers. They always had been.

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Hung upon your wall for the world to see_

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Remind us all of what we could have been_

**Author's Review: I lost inspiration halfway through this story. It wasn't exactly how I pictured my first impression on the Blood+ fandom. I didn't quite capture Saya's character or her relationship with Haji. I got carried away with Aoi for sure. There's a lot of revising to do. I'll rewrite in the future. Sorry for the upset!**


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